Saturday, September 08, 2007

Weekend Herb Blogging #99

Though I'm forsaking the liver and a nice chianti I am taking a closer look at Fava Beans or as they are also known, Broad Beans

Broad beans are one of those vegetables that seem to suffer the curse of being overcooked. The key to their enjoyment is a two step process. First, briefly blanch the podded beans in boiling water - between 10 seconds and 30 seconds will be more than enough.

Drain them immediately and then peel away the thick outer skin to reveal the tender deep green beans. It is fiddly but well worth the effort as soon as you taste that sweet hidden jewel.

Unfortunately people will still boil the beans until that outer skin is tender, a process that destroys the character of the bean.

When you take a close look at that outer skin you can see just how thick it is - why would you want to eat it?

So if you are like Paalo and thought they didn't like broad beans then perhaps you too will be converted when they are cooked in this manner.

Today's recipe is all about enjoying the fresh taste of broad beans and I am teaming them with another favourite, peas. As it's now spring here, the peas are really coming into season and also need the barest of cooking to experience them at their best.

Presented as a topping for bruschetta, the combination of smashed broad beans and peas combined with fresh goat's curd, just screams freshness.

Put a pot of water onto boil and when boiling add the broad beans. Blanch for less than a minute - if your beans are on the small size then cut down the time to 30 seconds. Use a spider to remove the beans from the pot. You can then add the peas and boil them for a minute - drain them immediately.

Now the boring bit begins - pop the broad beans from their skin.

Put half the podded broad beans and half the peas into a mortar, grind over with a little salt and white pepper and pound until roughly crushed. Add enough fresh goats curd to form a sticky paste then add the remaining peas and broad beans - fold through until just combined.

Cut the Ciabatta into thick slices, brush with a little olive oil and cook over a hot grill. When one side has developed ridge marks, flip over and repeat with the other side.

Rub one side of the hot bread with the garlic clove - this gives it a lovely delicate hint of garlic. Top with a good mound of beans and serve immediately.

20 comments:

Haalo this looks lovely. The beans always look like they have such a luxurious home in their plush pods! I've made something very similar to your recipe in the past without the cheese but with fresh mint which goes really well with the beans.

The broad beans I've been getting recently have been tiny and I think when they are this small you really can get away with leaving the (very thin) skins on in terms of taste and texture (though I guess you might still want to remove them for aesthetic reasons)

This looks just so delicious. It sounds like a very creative and unique way to use fresh favas.

Sigh, I've never had fresh fava beans, and I do feel quite deprived. I don't think I've even seen them at the farmers market here, although I guess I don't go there all season, since I have my own garden, so maybe I've just missed them. And then earlier in the summer I bought some at the Ferry Building market in San Francisco when I was visiting, and left them in the refrigerator in the hotel! Hopefully someday I'll finally get to try them.

The fava bean plants are gone from our garden in Northern California, but I'll be saving this recipe for the next crop. They're quite easy to grow and have a charming small speckled white flower.Our favorite way to eat them -- when young -- is raw, topped with cubes of feta cheese, chopped fresh oregano and a drizzle of great olive oil.

This is what I love on movie nights. A fee big slcies of thin bread, some crushed garlic and tomatoes on one, and beans/peas/cheese on te ohter. Love the recipe. My favorite luch is slad greens, with petite peas and fresh goat cheese, raspberry vinegar and oil.

I actually cooked broad beans for the first time myself this weekend & they were good but hidden in a tart so the flavour did not shine through, I have a friend over for lunch this week & I think I will try this on her - sounds delicious!

Good morning Haalo, Your recipe looks splendid, but this time I have to disagree with you on the preparation part of the fava bean. Like you, I used to think that you couldn’t eat the outer skin, it’s though and ugly. And then came along Mojo, who thought me how to do it. You take off the "string" on the side of the fava bean skin, and then you steam it, longer than you did because the skin is though. After that you dice it with the beans still inside and you serve with lots of diced red onion, cumin, diced hot pepper, diced tomatoes, olive oil, salt pepper. Because the skin can be fibrous sometimes, you will have the find the freshest ones for the recipe. I can't say it's my favorite way of eating fava bean, but just wanted to share with you what I know.Usually, what I like to do is to steam the beans, longer because I don't like al dente and again that's a personal taste and serve only the fava beans, without the outer skin drizzled with olive oil, salt pepper and cumin. I also don't remove the thin layer that covers the bean. God, I talked too much today. Have a great week Haalo.

Fantastic looking recipe Haalo. While it can be a bit fiddly, it's so worthwhile removing those thick outer coatings. Plus it reveals the vibrant, bright green underneath. Much better than having you food turn that mucky green-grey it goes with the outer skin on.